Photos

Members

About

Sounds Like:
Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Guy Clark, Blaze Foley

Bio:
​Born in Austin, Texas, Philip Gibbs has performed over 2,000 times in 35 states over the past 17 years. His two most recent albums -The Petroleum Age (2011); Paper Crosses (2003 - re-released to national radio in 2010) - successively appeared on the Americana Radio Charts for much of that time....See Full Bio

“The road is his home
Austin native Philip Gibbs no stranger to Montrose – or anywhere else, for that matter. Austin, Texas, may technically serve as his base of operations these days, but, much like Woody Guthrie, one of his biggest musical influences, Philip Gibbs ain’t got no home in this world anymore. “I gave up having a home,” said the singer-songwriter, “it was just an unnecessary expense.” Gibbs lives on the road, performing as often as possible and crashing for the night where ever it’s convenient – hostels and hotels, campgrounds and couches. It’s a Gypsy-like existence he fell into pretty early in life, once he figured out music was the route he wanted to take. His was the route he wanted to take. His unofficial apprenticeship took him to New York, then Nashville and finally back to Austin, the so-called “Live Music Capital of the World,” where carving out a niche for yourself and making a living among the thousands of musicians who live there is a”

— Mike Easterling,Montrose Daily Press (part 1)

“Gibbs figured he was better off just hitting the highway – and staying on it.
“Over supply is one of the biggest issues in the music business,” he said. “It’s the same where you’re in New York City, Nashville or Austin. That’s why I spend so much time on the road these days.”
Gibbs didn’t always plan on pursuing such an itinerant lifestyle. Unlike the vast majority of musicians who call Austin home, Gibbs actually grew up there, though he says the town’s famous music scene barely registered on him as a kid. The only real exposure he had to it, he says, was when he became friends with the daughter of Jerry Jeff Walker (best known for his hit “Mr. Bojangles”) in high school and saw Walker perform a couple of times. That all changed when Gibbs turned 19 and [was] enrolled at the University of Texas. One of his roommates turned him onto the Beatles, Gibbs bought himself a guitar and music became an integral part of his life from that point on.”

“In fact, he says, the only time he hasn’t played guitar every day since then was the semester he spent studying abroad in college. Gibbs spent an extended period traveling across India and found it too difficult lugging his guitar along with him.
Now, of course, it’s the tool with which he makes his living. He’s no stranger to Montrose, having performed here twice before.
“Colorado has been one of my most frequent destinations,” he said.
Those already familiar with Gibbs will get the chance to hear him perform songs from his latest release, “Petroleum Age,” which came out in June. It was his first new disc in eight years. Gibbs describes it as a diary of that period.
“I had a lot of songs building up over the years,” he said.
Wednesday’s show begins at 6 p.m. Call 240-1590 for more information.”

“As renowned as Austin is for its forward-thinking music community, it seems that the people there forgot one of their own in singer/songwriter Philip Gibbs.
The troubadour has been plugging away at his career for more than a decade, and it seems that everywhere Gibbs goes, he's met with the starry eyes of those who have loved and lost or felt some other type of heartbreak. That he has to go anywhere outside of Austin is the biggest travesty; hometown crowds have largely ignored Gibbs, as has the local press. It makes for a bit of sour grapes on the part of Gibbs, but it also has forced him to seek his fortune in other locales, which he doesn't mind doing one bit.
"Last year, when I traveled all over the country, I had my record playing on stations all over, newspapers starting to write articles about me, and it helped my confidence."
Gibbs is touring behind his "Paper Crosses" release, an album chock full of folky strumming, but also touches of ragtime, jazz and light rock.”

— Ron Gonzalez,Albuquerque Journal

““The Petroleum Age” seemingly is an ironic view of a bleak future for man relying for survival on the remnants of the Jurassic Age.
Gibbs is a refreshingly original singer and songwriter who has for 15 years been flying under the radar, playing his jazz-influenced pop and folk, imbued with bluegrass and country. He sings about common folk with common problems and yearnings, who also like to have some good fun too.
“In the Middle of the Evening” is a boot-scooting, skirt-chasing, two-stepping, honky-tonk good-time song, and in “30 Minutes at the Station,” you can hear in the guitar, harmonica and washboard the sound of the train whistle and the clacking of train wheels.
Gibbs makes it a point to perform in small towns, saying that when he was a kid, Austin was a small town, and his dad was from a small town in Mississippi.
“I do enjoy playing in small towns all across America,” he said. “It gives me a calm I once had at home, but is no longer there.”
”

“‘She’s Gonna Go’ [Music by Philip Gibbs, Lyrics by Charlie Faye] is like a country standard written years ago though it’s very much about now.”

— Paul Zollo,bluerailroad

“In the popular Spring 2005 Vortex production of Sleeping Beauty, Phil portrayed 'Dave, a prince who writes his own ballads. (Philip Gibbs penned the character's songs himself.) He and Briar Rose could settle for the ‘happily ever after’ that's typically tacked onto their story, but they defer that so they can write more adventures for their lives. It's an intriguing alternative to what we get in the traditional tale of the Sleeping Beauty, and the same may be said for this pleasing production overall.'”